I am a former Councillor in South Liverpool and have also been leader of the Liverpool Lib Dem Group. I also work as a Lecturer at Edge Hill University.

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Groups in Speke Garston to lose out - thanks to Labour!!

Today sees the launch of the Councillors Community Initiative Fund. This is basically a ward based fund that local councillors either do or don't agree to create. Local groups can bid for money from the fund depending on where they are based. That's the good news.

The bad news is that if you are a group in Speke/Garston there is no fund for you!

This strange state of affairs is a direct result of action, or inaction, by Labour's Councillors in the ward.

The fund money comes from the cash already allocated to wards as part of the Neighbourhood Fund. Councillors were asked if they wanted to put aside money from this for a pot that local groups could bid in to. Not all wards were able to do this. Some for example had virtually no Neighbourhood Fund to allocate. A few had alread committed their money. But most had enough to enable them to decide to free some up.

In Cressington, we decided to allocate £5,000 and we very much hope local organisations will have some great ideas about how they would want to spend some of this.

In Speke Garston however the Councillors have allocated a great big nothing. So despite being allocated the most money in the City, they are not even able to put aside a few thousand for local charities and voluntary groups.

Next time I hear Labour talk about the need to help local organisations I will be bearing this example in mind!

5 comments:

But really we shouldn't be developing funds like these. Good councillors will use them in an equitable way. Bad ones will end up using taxpayers money to support the groups that will deliver them the most votes come election time.

Basically they institutionalise corruption and it always amazes me why so many Lib Dem councillors think they are a good idea

I'd agree your line if I were you before you posted! Either the fund can be used for local voluntary groups or it can't. One of you is saying it isn't for that.. and the other that the local councillors have decided to use it all that way. Can't all be true! You may find it interesting to know that last year's allocation of more than 120,000 pounds was nearly lost because of an inability on the part of the councillors to decide how to spend it.. oh and they didn't give any to the organisation they now say they are trying to save!!!

Anonymous number 1 - that is great news. If they have decided to give all the neighbourhood fund money to community groups that means they must have made a decision on which ones because i guess they couldn't just make such a vague decision with public money. I am a resident in Speke and so I will be writing in under freedom of information to see what decisions have been made by now. given what you say all thedecisions on that money must have been made. I do not know how long it will take to get an answer but if they write back to me I will come on here again and post the information so that everyone can see.